


In the Midst of All This

by stellardrift



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Smut, Zombies, somewhat silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-23
Updated: 2012-11-23
Packaged: 2017-11-19 08:40:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/571350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellardrift/pseuds/stellardrift
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michonne can’t sleep so Andrea helps her relax.  And also they find an ipod and listen to some country music together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Midst of All This

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed concrit welcome.

The tiny flash of white made her pause.  Moonlight reflected off of some metal surface.  Maybe it was something useful.  Michonne made her way over towards it, somewhere behind the counter on which the register sat; she was going to look behind there anyways.  No big thing. 

There was a thick layer of dust over the counter, like the rest of the store.  It was hard to believe it had been over six months since the world went to shit.  It was starting to feel like a lifetime.  And something told Michonne that she had better get used to it.

Laying on the floor was the object which caught the moon’s rays, a thin metal square, something from another era.

“An ipod, no way!” She laughed out loud.  It sounded strained and unfamiliar in the pitched silence of that rural corner store.   _It probably doesn’t work_ , she thought even as her finger moved automatically and pressed the power button.  The screen light up.

Rushed footsteps, followed by hushed shouts came in reply.  “Michonne, what’s happened?  Are you okay?”

The blonde woman’s eyes were wide and anxious as always.  She seemed incapable of anything but wearing her emotions on her sleeve.

“It’s fine.  Look what I found.”  She held up the small object for inspection.

Andrea shrugged, “What about it?”

“It still has power,” she smiled at the thought of listening to music again, something that would have been perfectly normal just a few months ago.  Now, it may as well have been a lifetime ago.  Even as she smiled, a wave of sadness rushed over her.  Here was only a reminder of the life she would never have again, of all the things she’d lost.  She slipped it into her pocket.

 

…

The store didn’t have much in the way of food left.  Most of the dry stock had already been pilfered or compromised and the cooler certainly wouldn’t be worth going in unless you wanted a sure way to empty out what little was left in your stomach.  She had learned that the hard way.  It was getting harder and harder to find food in this area.  They’d have to move on again soon.

_But to where?_   Michonne shook her head, trying to back track out of that obvious downward spiral.  They had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, for long.

They’d camped out in the back office.  Her walkers stood guard outside.  They were safe, for now.  They had food in their bellies and a warm room to rest for a few hours.  The bigger questions would have to wait.  After all, if she put it off long enough, she may not even have to make a decision.  Michonne winced at the thought.  That was reality now.

 

Outside winter winds howled, restless.  She paced the small room while Andrea lay curled up in the corner, eyes closed, but undoubtedly awake.  The constant threat of walkers did little to soothe one to sleep.

“Relax, I’ll take first watch,” Michonne said.

“I can’t,” Andrea replied, eyes open.

“Yes.  You can.  I’m right here.  Now, sleep.”

“Fine.” She closed her eyes again, probably faking.  _Better than nothing_ , Michonne supposed.

She sat down at the desk, tried to get a little more comfortable, as if it were possible.  How could anyone get comfortable when their life was in constant danger?  At any moment a walker could surprise them or a herd could overtake them.  Sure, she had her walkers out there, guarding the door.  That used to be enough for her.  Since she met _Blondie_ over there, the threat of the living dead seemed much more imminent, like there was more to lose.  Why that was, she didn’t care to explore too deeply.  She just had to focus on keeping them alive.

But she was tired.  So damn tired.  Constant adrenaline surges were beginning to take a serious toll on her system.  Her chest felt tight, all of the time.  She wondered if this was what post traumatic stress disorder felt like.  Probably the real problem was the trauma wasn’t over.  Who knew if it ever would be?

She sighed and pulled the ipod out of her pocket where she’d stashed it earlier.  She thumbed the circular dial, searching through the songs, country mostly.  _What a bust_ , she though and she tossed it back onto the desk.

Andrea pitched a fit when she woke up in the morning and Michonne was still sitting at the desk, waiting.

“Why didn’t you wake me after four hours?  That was the deal, four hour watches.”

“I wasn’t tired.”

“You need to sleep sometime.  I haven’t seen you sleep in days.  How are you even standing?  You will sleep next time, no arguments.”  She clenched her pale fists together.  Her face was pink with rage.

“Fine,” Michonne answered, wanting to end the conversation quickly, as she normally did when it started to focus too much on herself, her feelings, or her health.

…

By nightfall, they’d made it to the outskirts of the larger town and to a large old farmhouse.  Thankfully, it seemed to have been abandoned before the residents could die and reanimate inside.  The living room was dry, it had a huge fireplace (not that they could use it-- it’d attract too much attention) and new plush sofas.  Michonne sat down on the sofa.  Turns out it was as comfortable as it looked.  “Nice.”

Andrea smiled back at her.  That killed Michonne a little bit, that fact, that finding someplace comfortable to crash for the night was a cause for celebration at this point.

She was lying down on in pile of blankets they’d found upstairs, willing herself to sleep.  She was comfortable at least, warm.  She knew she needed it, intellectually, but whenever she closed her eyes she saw…

_Them_.

Usually, it was Mike, smiling at her from the window of their new brownstone.  It had been that first day; she had waved up at him from the back of the moving truck.  She was so happy.  She was free at last, finally finished with her painful divorce and starting over.  She was moving into her dream home with the man she loved.

But now, his eyes, they were different now: cloudy grey orbs that sunk into his skull.  The harder she tried to see those deep beautiful brown eyes, the worse it got, until he was handing her a paintbrush, grinning, jawless, blood spurting from his gullet.  They all looked like that now.  All of her memories were corrupted.

She opened her eyes just a bit and glanced over at her companion.  Andrea was swaying gently, smiling softly to herself.  Her eyes traced the wires hanging from Andrea’s ears.  Despite her best efforts of stealthy silence as she stifled a small laugh, Andrea immediately froze.  She turned to face Michonne.

“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” she chided.

“I can’t,” Michonne replied simply.  Something in her voice must have made gave her away because the smile dropped from Andrea’s face for just a moment before she grinned again playfully.

“Do you need me to snuggle with you?”  Her tone was teasing, light, but something heated flickered behind her blue eyes.

“Yes,” Michonne said.  Her tired voice was barely a whisper in the dark. 

That look flashed across Andrea’s face again.  Concern?  Pity?  Normally that would have immediately raised her hackles but tonight, she was just too damn tired.  All she could do is feel relief as the other woman laid down next to her and gathered her in her arms.

“Here,” Andrea said, holding out one of the small ear buds to Michonne.  “Listen with me.”

“Then who will listen for walkers?” she asked.

“Your walkers are out there.  Besides, I can listen with my other ear.”  Andrea bypassed Michonne’s hand and placed it in her ear.

A crass twangy guitar instrumental was playing.  Not exactly her idea of good music.  She didn’t mind resting her head on Andrea’s shoulder though, or the way the other woman’s hand trailed up and down her arm.  Michonne was still staring at the ceiling, her muscles still tense, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.  She focused on the water stain above them; it looked sort of like a hippo or maybe one of those religious portraits of a saint.  Maybe it was a sign.  A message from God, that they weren’t alone after all.

She smiled at the absurdity.

“Close your eyes,” Andrea said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Or what?” Michonne replied easily.

“Or I’ll make you.”  Michonne could hear the smile in Andrea’s voice and excitement bubbled in her.  This wasn’t exactly doing anything for her problem of relaxing.  She wondered if Andrea was doing it on purpose.

“I’d like to see you try,” she said back.

The next song came on the ipod.  A husky voice crooned:

 

> _What's the point in fightin' what we're feelin'  
>  We both know we'll never win_

Michonne swallowed hard and shifted her head onto Andrea’s shoulder.

“You know what your problem is?  You’re too tense,” Andrea whispered behind her.  Her fingers traced up her arms to her shoulders.  She gripped Michonne’s shoulders and started kneading the muscles there.

 

>   _Ain't this what we're missin'  
>  Let's just stop all this resistin' and give in_

Michonne let out an involuntary moan.  It had been ages since anyone had touched her and Blondie was surprisingly good at this.  With each new squeeze she felt a little more tension leave her body.  She relaxed into Andrea and allowed her eyelids to droop.

“You like it?”

“Yes,” Michonne said.

“I told you I could get you to close your eyes.”

 

>   _Let me wrap my arms around you  
>  You know you don't want to leave this room_

“They aren’t closed all the way, yet,” Michonne replied defiantly, eyes flying open.  Not quite sure what she was fighting or even if she was.  The truth was she already felt more at ease in the past five minutes than she had in the past six months.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to try something more drastic,” Andrea said.

Michonne twitched, hesitantly she replied, “Yeah, let’s do that.”

Suddenly, she was being jostled from her comfortable place as Andrea sat up.  The music abruptly cut off as the headphone fell out of Michonne’s ear.  _A threat.  Get up_.  Adrenaline flooded her weary body, again.  Michonne, leaning on her elbow, narrowed her eyes and glanced around, listening for the tell tale groan or shuffle of a walker.  “What is it?”

Andrea turned to face her, eyes blazing.  “Something drastic.”

She leaned in and pressed her lips against Michonne’s.  And wow, that was not what she’d been expecting. . . _was it?_  

Michonne relaxed her lips, parting her mouth slightly.  A bolt of electricity shot down her spine.  Maybe she was dreaming this.  After all, it had been awhile since she had had any sleep at all, let alone a good night’s rest.  But she pressed into the kiss and the velvety lips felt real enough.  Best to just drive right in then, right?

She grabbed the back of Andrea’s neck, pulling her closer.  She’d imagined how it would feel to run her fingers through those silky blonde locks and now she allowed herself to find out.  Andrea reciprocated by sliding her tongue in Michonne’s mouth with increased intensity.

When they broke apart, they were both breathless, panting.  Andrea’s eyes were nearly black; her lips were flushed and wet. 

“I’m not tired anymore,” Michonne breathed.

“You will be,” Andrea replied, but there was just a soft hint of a question, perhaps a plea.

“Good,” Michonne replied quickly before pulling her close and kissing her again, not waiting for a response.  Who wanted to get stuck talking about feelings when there was something so much better that they could be doing?

They tangled together as they kissed; the warmth of Andrea’s body pressed against Michonne in all the right places.  Her hands flew to Michonne’s abdomen exploring the exposed skin there, slipping her lithe fingers under Michonne’s vest as she tasted the skin on her neck.  She paused, her fingers hovering over the top button, raising her eyebrows at Michonne.

“Please.” Michonne trembled in anticipation.  It had been far too long since she had been touched like this, since she’d felt this close to someone else.  She hadn’t even realized how much she had missed it.

Andrea undid the buttons, revealing goose bump covered flesh.  Andrea ran her fingers over Michonne’s now exposed breast, tracing her erect nipples.  A sly grin covered her face as leaned forward and began trailing kisses across Michonne’s collarbone and down her chest.

“Stop teasing,” Michonne groaned, jerking her thigh upwards, earning a gasp from the other woman that went straight to her groin.

“Never,” she returned before kissing Michonne again, open and desperate as her hand finally made its way down to Michonne’s upper thigh which she squeezed playfully before Michonne pulled her closer pressing their chests together. 

“Why am I the only one taking off her clothes?” she whispered as she gently nipped at Andrea’s ear. 

She could feel Andrea grin against her cheek, “I will next time.”

_Next time_ , sent shivers down her spine.

Michonne took in a deep breath, maybe to speak.  At that moment, Andrea slipped open her jeans and slid her hand inside in one quick movement and forgot what she could have possibly wanted to say.  She keened in Andrea’s skilled hands, warmth building inside her.

Dragging her fingernails dragged across Andrea’s lower back, she sighed into Andrea’s palm, kissing her in time to the thrusts, until she was clawing at her back, riding the crest of her climax.

Michonne sunk back down into the cushions, her eyelids heavy.  She smiled when Andrea kissed her forehead one more time.  For the first time in a very long time she felt something new.  It lifted her heavy heart and cradled her weary body.  Hope.

“Now sleep,” Andrea said before putting the ear bud back into Michonne’s ear.

 

 

 

> _Come back and let me hold you darlin'  
>  Girl I just got started lovin' you_

 

 

 

_end._


End file.
